A True Endurance Race Team

The Rolex 24 at Daytona is on my racing bucket list. I will attend this iconic race as a fan one day soon. But until then I have to settle for watching all 16 hours of coverage on FOX.

If you are new to racing, the Rolex 24 is the unofficial start of the motorsports calendar held annually on the same track in Daytona Beach that NASCAR will hold its biggest race in just a few weeks. It is an incredible test of driver and pit crew endurance as well as an extreme test for the most exotic sports cars in the world. It also combines the best drivers in the world from NASCAR, IndyCar, Formula One and other premier road racing series. There is no other event like it in the United States all year long. And there is no other team like Ganassi when it comes to winning it.

Chip Ganassi Racing, the best endurance race team in the last decade, came through with the overall win once again in what people were referring to all weekend as the “star car.” Ganassi’s NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers Jamie McMurray and Kyle Larson teamed with IndyCar stars Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan to take home the overall checkered flag and a spectacular Rolex watch. The win was Ganassi’s sixth overall Rolex 24, more than any other owner in the history of the race. Dixon crossed the finish line on Sunday after completing 740 laps and 2,634 miles…in 24 hours.

Dixon drove the final three hours and was tremendous behind the wheel of the Target Ford EcoBoost Riley. Dixon did not make a mistake. That’s why he is Ganassi’s coveted open wheel vet. A 3-time IndyCar champion, an Indianapolis 500 champion, and now a 2-time Rolex 24 winner at 34 years old, Dixon may be the most underrated driver in American auto racing today.

Jamie McMurray became the third driver ever to win the Daytona 500 and the Rolex 24. He joined a couple of the notable names: A.J. Foyt and Mario Andretti. You can put Kanaan down for a Rolex and an Indianapolis 500 win (2013).

But perhaps the most impressive was a guy I’ve been following for the last three years, Kyle Larson. Larson was bad in last year’s sports car debut for Ganassi. I mean really bad, which is a word that you don’t associate with Larson and racing. This guy won at everything as he climbed the NASCAR ladder. He was last year’s Sprint Cup rookie of the year, and he nearly won three races in his initial season. Larson said in victory lane he almost did not run this year because of his blunders in the race in 2014. Ganassi convinced him to give it another shot because he knows talent and it paid off for him and his team. Dixon stole the show, but Larson put him in position to close it out.

Chip Ganassi now turns his attention to the upcoming Daytona 500 on February 22nd. Ganassi credited the France brothers (Brian Jr. and the late Bill France Jr.) after the race for convincing him to start a road racing team and involve NASCAR. His Sprint Cup team still has not won a championship, but he might be on the right track with Larson. No one can deny that he has the top road racing team in the world and it’s hard to believe he will slow down anytime soon.

(Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)

Ohio Team Takes Daytona Rolex Pole

Columbus-born Michael Shank brought his sportscar racing team to Daytona with a bit of Buckeye luck. An Ohio State football national championship decal adorned the #60 car that driver Oswaldo Negri Jr. won the Rolex 24 at Daytona pole position with on Thursday in a mild upset in the Shank Racing Ligier JS P2 with a speed of 129.201 mph. Shank is no stranger to underdog stories like the one that saw Urban Meyer’s team win the undisputed title over Oregon on January 12th. He fights for sponsorship dollars every season and he put the right combination together just in time for this year’s annual endurance race at Daytona Beach on a team that includes NASCAR Sprint Cup driver A.J. Allmendinger.

53 cars in four classes will compete in the first major motorsports event of the year beginning Saturday afternoon in Daytona Beach. For those who are new to the race, teams have at least three drivers per car, who then rotate in driving around the 3.56-mile road course over a 24-hour period.

Chip Ganassi’s cars are always contenders to win the annual endurance race and they qualified 2^nd with Scott Dixon and 3^rd with sportscar legend Scott Pruett behind the wheel. Pruett, a 5-time winner, is trying to become the all-time Rolex 24 winner this weekend.

(Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)

Major Gordon Announcement

01/22/15 – By Josh Sabo

It wasn’t stunning, but it was a bit of a surprise.

With the 2015 auto racing season about to get underway in Daytona, Jeff Gordon made a huge announcement today saying that 2015 will be his final full season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The four-time champion, who will compete in his 23rd season driving for Hendrick Motorsports, released the news on his website. In a statement, Gordon did not want to proclaim this as a farewell tour.

“I thought long and hard about my future this past year and during the offseason, and I’ve decided 2015 will be the last time I compete for a championship,” Gordon said on JeffGordon.com.

“I won’t use the ‘R-word’ because I plan to stay extremely busy in the years ahead, and there’s always the possibility I’ll compete in selected events, although I currently have no plans to do that.”

I actually wrote about the possibility of Gordon retiring in my last post of 2014 regarding the Kasey Kahne extenstion at Hendrick. I wondered where Xfinity Series champion Chase Elliott might fit in at Hendrick if all four seats were filled. It’s funny how that worked out. But we will have an entire season to discuss Elliott’s future in Sprint Cup. Today is about Gordon.

There’s no doubt about it, Jeff Gordon is a NASCAR legend. He will be a Hall of Famer. He is and always will be a polarizing figure in the sport. He hosted Saturday Night Live! I can still vividly remember Gordon’s stretch of dominance from 1995-98. There were times during those seasons when fans and media wondered if any other driver would win again because Gordon was just so good. He won so much, he was vilified. In 1998, his third championship season, he won 13 of 33 races including four straight victories at Pocono, Indianapolis, Watkins Glen, and Michigan.

Gordon was also one of the first drivers to break the mold of the traditional Southern born and raised NASCAR success story. Gordon was born in California and his family moved to Indiana to get him involved in racing. He had instant success in stock cars and that rubbed some fans the wrong way. Gordon helped expand the sport nationwide and will be a major part of its future. Putting together his own team is not out of the question.

“I don’t foresee a day when I’ll ever step away from racing. I’m a fan of all forms of motor sports, but particularly NASCAR. We have a tremendous product, and I’m passionate about the business and its future success. As an equity owner in Hendrick Motorsports, I’m a partner with Rick (Hendrick) and will remain heavily involved with the company for many years to come. It means so much to have the chance to continue working with the owner who took a chance on me and the incredible team that’s stood behind me every step of the way.”

This story clearly will impact the 2015 season and will be the headline as Daytona practice begins on February 13th. It very well could be Gordon’s final Daytona 500 on February 22nd.

Speed For Thought is all over this weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona sportscar race. Reports start Friday.

(Above photo courtesy of Robert Laberge/Getty Images)